CN114788215A

CN114788215A - Repeater beacon signals for enabling inter-cell interference coordination

Info

Publication number: CN114788215A
Application number: CN202080085964.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: K.雷乔杜里; A.B.哈尔德; O.科曼
Original assignee: Qualcomm Inc
Current assignee: Qualcomm Inc
Priority date: 2019-12-17
Filing date: 2020-12-16
Publication date: 2022-07-22
Anticipated expiration: 2040-12-16
Also published as: US20210185588A1; US11758465B2; WO2021126975A1; CN114788215B; EP4078881A1

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communication are described. A relay may transmit a beacon signal indicating the presence of the relay, wherein the relay is configured to relay the signal to one or more User Equipments (UEs) within the wireless communication system. The repeater may receive signals from at least one base station within a time-frequency resource shared by a plurality of neighboring base stations in response to transmitting the beacon signal. The relay may send an amplified version of the received signal to one or more UEs.

Description

Repeater beacon signals for enabling inter-cell interference coordination

Cross-referencing

The present patent application claims priority from U.S. patent application No. 17/123,066 entitled "REPEATER BEACONDITION SIGNAL FOR ENABLING INTER-CELL INTERFERENCE COORDINATION" filed on 12/15/2020 by RAY CHAUDHURI et al AND U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/949,304 entitled "ENABLE REPEATER IDENTIFICATION AND INTER-CELL INTERFERENCE COORDINATION SUPERPORT TO REDUCE REPEATER BASED INTERFERENCE" filed on 12/17/2019 by RAY CHAUDHURI et al, each of which is assigned TO the assignee of the present patent application.

Background

The following generally relates to wireless communications and more particularly relates to relay beacon signals for enabling inter-cell interference coordination (ICIC).

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be able to support communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-advanced (LTE-a) systems, or LTE-a Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems that may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ techniques such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), or discrete fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple-access communication system may include several base stations or network access nodes that each simultaneously support communication for multiple communication devices, which may otherwise be referred to as User Equipment (UE).

Disclosure of Invention

The described technology relates to improved methods, systems, devices and apparatus supporting relay beacon signals for enabling inter-cell interference coordination (ICIC). In general, the described technology provides various mechanisms to support wireless communication in a wireless network. Broadly speaking, aspects of the described technology enable detection capabilities of repeaters deployed in wireless communication systems (such as cellular networks). Cellular networks use repeaters to extend and/or improve coverage areas. Some repeaters are integrated components of a network with a fully connected protocol stack implemented with other network devices. However, some repeaters are not fully integrated into the network, but simply amplify the received signal for retransmission. A repeater (e.g., one not integrated into a cellular network) may be configured to periodically or aperiodically, in-band, or out-of-band emit a beacon signal identifying the repeater. Beacons may be used to indicate the presence of repeaters within a wireless communication system. A base station (or cell) receiving a beacon may initiate an ICIC exchange (e.g., via a backhaul link) to identify/allocate resources (e.g., time and/or frequency resources) in which communications involving a relay may be performed. Thus, ICIC may prevent multiple base stations from transmitting to a relay at the same time/using the same frequency and/or prevent the relay from being heard by multiple base stations.

A method of wireless communication at a repeater is described. The method can comprise the following steps: transmitting, by a relay, a beacon signal indicating a presence of the relay, wherein the relay is configured to relay the signal to one or more User Equipments (UEs) within the wireless communication system; receiving signals from at least one base station within time-frequency resources shared by a set of neighboring base stations in response to transmitting a beacon signal; and transmitting the amplified version of the received signal to one or more UEs.

An apparatus for wireless communication at a repeater is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory coupled with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmitting, by a relay, a beacon signal indicating a presence of the relay, wherein the relay is configured to relay signals to one or more UEs within a wireless communication system; receiving a signal from at least one base station within a time-frequency resource shared by a set of neighboring base stations in response to transmitting a beacon signal; and transmitting the amplified version of the received signal to one or more UEs.

Another apparatus for wireless communication at a repeater is described. The apparatus may comprise means for performing the steps of: transmitting, by a relay, a beacon signal indicating a presence of the relay, wherein the relay is configured to relay the signal to one or more UEs within the wireless communication system; receiving a signal from at least one base station within a time-frequency resource shared by a set of neighboring base stations in response to transmitting a beacon signal; and transmitting the amplified version of the received signal to one or more UEs.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a relay is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: transmitting, by a relay, a beacon signal indicating a presence of the relay, wherein the relay is configured to relay the signal to one or more UEs within the wireless communication system; receiving a signal from at least one base station within a time-frequency resource shared by a set of neighboring base stations in response to transmitting a beacon signal; and transmitting the amplified version of the received signal to one or more UEs.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: a beacon configuration for transmission of a beacon signal is received, where the beacon signal may be transmitted according to the beacon configuration.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a beacon configuration may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for: receiving a beacon configuration indicating that beacon signals are transmitted according to a periodic schedule, an aperiodic schedule, or any combination thereof.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a beacon configuration may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for: receiving a beacon configuration indicating that the beacon signal is sent as at least one of an in-band transmission, or an out-of-band transmission, or any combination thereof.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a beacon configuration may further include operations, features, components, or instructions for: a beacon configuration is received indicating that a beacon signal is transmitted as a Random Access Channel (RACH) preamble within RACH resources of a wireless communication system.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following steps: a beacon signal including an identifier associated with the repeater is transmitted.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the repeater may not be configured to decode or process the received signal prior to transmission.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, a repeater may be configured to amplify and beamform a signal without coordinating with at least one base station or any of a plurality of neighboring base stations of a wireless communication system.

A method of wireless communication at a base station is described. The method can comprise the following steps: receiving a beacon signal from the repeater indicating the presence of the repeater; in response to receiving the beacon signal, performing inter-cell interference coordination with one or more neighboring base stations receiving the beacon signal to coordinate scheduling of time-frequency resources; and transmitting a signal within the time-frequency resources to the relay for relaying to the one or more UEs based on the inter-cell interference coordination.

An apparatus for wireless communication at a base station is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory coupled with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receiving a beacon signal from the repeater indicating the presence of the repeater; in response to receiving the beacon signal, performing inter-cell interference coordination with one or more neighboring base stations receiving the beacon signal to coordinate scheduling of time-frequency resources; and transmitting a signal to the relay within the time-frequency resources for relaying to the one or more UEs based on the inter-cell interference coordination.

Another apparatus for wireless communication at a base station is described. The apparatus may comprise means for performing the steps of: receiving a beacon signal from the repeater indicating the presence of the repeater; in response to receiving the beacon signal, performing inter-cell interference coordination with one or more neighboring base stations receiving the beacon signal to coordinate scheduling of time-frequency resources; and transmitting a signal to the relay within the time-frequency resources for relaying to the one or more UEs based on the inter-cell interference coordination.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a base station is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: receiving a beacon signal from the repeater indicating the presence of the repeater; in response to receiving the beacon signal, performing inter-cell interference coordination with one or more neighboring base stations receiving the beacon signal to coordinate scheduling of time-frequency resources; and transmitting a signal within the time-frequency resources to the relay for relaying to the one or more UEs based on the inter-cell interference coordination.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for: a beacon configuration for transmission of a beacon signal is transmitted, where the beacon signal may be transmitted according to the beacon configuration.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, transmitting the beacon configuration may further include operations, features, components, or instructions for: transmitting a beacon configuration indicating that beacon signals are transmitted according to a periodic schedule, an aperiodic schedule, or any combination thereof.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, transmitting a beacon configuration may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for: transmitting a beacon configuration indicating that the beacon signal is transmitted as at least one of an in-band transmission, or an out-of-band transmission, or any combination thereof.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, transmitting a beacon configuration may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for: transmitting a beacon configuration indicating that the beacon signal is transmitted as a RACH preamble within a RACH resource of the wireless communication system.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for performing the following steps: receiving, from a first base station of the one or more neighboring base stations, an indication indicating that the first base station received a beacon signal from the relay, wherein the inter-cell interference coordination may be based on the received indication.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, performing inter-cell interference coordination may include operations, features, means, or instructions for: communicating one or more messages with one or more neighboring base stations via at least one of a wired backhaul link, or a wireless backhaul link, or any combination thereof.

Drawings

Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a system for wireless communication that supports repeater beacon signals for enabling inter-cell interference coordination, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system that supports repeater beacon signals for enabling inter-cell interference coordination, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a process to support relay beacon signals for enabling inter-cell interference coordination, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 and 5 illustrate block diagrams of devices that support repeater beacon signals for enabling inter-cell interference coordination, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 illustrates a block diagram of a communications manager that supports repeater beacon signals for enabling inter-cell interference coordination, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

Fig. 7 illustrates a diagram of a system including devices that support repeater beacon signals for enabling inter-cell interference coordination, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

Fig. 8 and 9 illustrate block diagrams of devices that support repeater beacon signals for enabling inter-cell interference coordination, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 10 illustrates a block diagram of a communications manager that supports repeater beacon signals for enabling inter-cell interference coordination, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

Fig. 11 illustrates a diagram of a system including devices that support repeater beacon signals for enabling inter-cell interference coordination, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

Fig. 12-16 show flow diagrams illustrating methods of supporting repeater beacon signals for enabling inter-cell interference coordination according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Wireless networks may be deployed in an overlapping manner. For example, base stations (e.g., cells) of a cellular network may be deployed within a geographic area to provide wireless communication with User Equipment (UE). Typically, wireless devices within a cellular network maintain (e.g., at a protocol stack level) logical connections with one another in order to coordinate resource utilization, synchronization, interference management, and so forth. Some cellular networks even utilize various relay nodes that operate as relays within the cellular network in order to extend coverage areas, provide wireless backhaul services, and so forth. These relay nodes are typically integrated into the network using logical connections, e.g., at protocol stack layers and the like. That is, these relay nodes performing the repeater operations are generally known by other components within the cellular network and operate according to network-wide coordination and control.

However, some deployment scenarios may include different classes of repeaters, which are not necessarily known by the cellular network. That is, such low cost/low complexity class of relays do not establish any form of logical connection with other devices within the cellular network, and therefore do not operate according to the resources and/or configurations provided by the cellular network. Rather, this class of repeater simply detects the wireless signal, amplifies the signal, and then retransmits the signal. This class of repeaters thus provides a low cost and simple mechanism to extend the coverage area of a cellular network, for example, within a building or other such structure. However, such ad hoc deployment of such repeaters (e.g., without any form of network control configuration) may introduce interference into the cellular network. It will be appreciated that references to a repeater that performs aspects of the described technology refer to this low cost/low complexity category of repeaters. Moreover, the wireless devices of the cellular network may not even be aware that a repeater has been deployed or otherwise operating within the coverage area of the cellular network.

Aspects of the present disclosure are first described in the context of a wireless communication system. Aspects of the described technology provide various mechanisms to support wireless communications in a wireless network. Broadly speaking, aspects of the described technology enable detection capabilities within repeaters deployed in wireless communication systems (such as cellular networks). Cellular networks use repeaters to extend and/or improve coverage areas. Some repeaters are integrated components of a network with a fully connected protocol stack implemented with other network devices. However, some repeaters are not fully integrated into the network, but simply amplify the received signal for retransmission. A repeater (e.g., one not integrated into a cellular network) may be configured to periodically or aperiodically, in-band, or out-of-band emit a beacon signal identifying the repeater. Beacons may be used to indicate the presence of repeaters within a wireless communication system. A base station (or cell) receiving a beacon may initiate an inter-cell interference coordination (ICIC) exchange (e.g., via a backhaul link) to identify/allocate resources (e.g., time and/or frequency resources) in which communications involving a relay may be performed. Accordingly, ICIC may prevent multiple base stations from transmitting to a relay at the same time/using the same frequency and/or prevent the relay from being heard by multiple base stations.

Certain aspects of the subject matter described herein may be implemented to realize one or more advantages. The described techniques may support improvements in system efficiency such that devices (e.g., base stations) may cancel or mitigate interference caused by relays within a wireless communication system. The described techniques may also facilitate enhanced capabilities of devices by enabling repeaters to announce their presence within a wireless communication system, but without requiring repeaters to be integrated into the wireless communication system. As such, the supported techniques may include improved device operation, and in some examples, may facilitate device and network efficiency and other benefits.

Aspects of the present disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flow charts related to relay beacon signals for enabling inter-cell interference coordination.

Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 100 that supports enabling relay identification and inter-cell interference coordination support to reduce relay-based interference in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 100 includes base stations 105, UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-advanced (LTE-a) network, an LTE-a Pro network, or a New Radio (NR) network. In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may support enhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission critical) communications, low latency communications, or communications with low cost and low complexity devices.

The base station 105 may wirelessly communicate with the UE115 via one or more base station antennas. The base stations 105 described herein may include or may be referred to by those skilled in the art as base transceiver stations, radio base stations, access points, radio transceivers, nodebs, enodebs (enbs), next generation nodebs or gigabit nodebs (any of which may be referred to as gnbs), home nodebs, home enodebs, or some other suitable terminology. The wireless communication system 100 may include different types of base stations 105 (e.g., macro cell base stations or small cell base stations). The UEs 115 described herein may be capable of communicating with various types of base stations 105 and network devices including macro enbs, small cell enbs, gnbs, relay base stations, and the like.

Each base station 105 may be associated with a particular geographic coverage area 110 in which communication with various UEs 115 is supported. Each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110 via a communication link 125, and the communication link 125 between the base station 105 and the UE115 may utilize one or more carriers. The communication link 125 shown in the wireless communication system 100 may include uplink transmissions from the UE115 to the base station 105 or downlink transmissions from the base station 105 to the UE 115. Downlink transmissions may also be referred to as forward link transmissions, and uplink transmissions may also be referred to as reverse link transmissions.

The geographic coverage area 110 for a base station 105 can be divided into sectors that form part of the geographic coverage area 110, and each sector can be associated with a cell. For example, each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a small cell, a hotspot, or other type of cell, or various combinations thereof. In some examples, the base stations 105 may be mobile and thus may provide communication coverage for a moving geographic coverage area 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, and overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may be supported by the same base station 105 or different base stations 105. The wireless communication system 100 may include, for example, heterogeneous LTE/LTE-a Pro or NR networks in which different types of base stations 105 provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas 110.

The term "cell" refers to a logical communication entity for communicating with the base station 105 (e.g., over a carrier) and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCID), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCID)) for distinguishing neighboring cells operating via the same or different carrier. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., Machine Type Communication (MTC), narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access for different types of devices. In some cases, the term "cell" may refer to a portion (e.g., a sector) of geographic coverage area 110 over which a logical entity operates.

The UEs 115 may be distributed throughout the wireless communication system 100, and each UE115 may be stationary or mobile. A UE115 may also be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handset, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where a "device" may also be referred to as a unit, station, terminal, or client. The UE115 may also be a personal electronic device, such as a cellular phone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, the UE115 may also refer to a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, an internet of things (IoT) device, an internet of everything (IoE) device, or an MTC device, etc., which may be implemented in various items such as appliances, vehicles, meters, etc.

Some UEs 115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low cost or low complexity devices and may provide automated communication between machines (e.g., via machine-to-machine (M2M) communication). M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication techniques that allow devices to communicate with each other or with the base station 105 without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communications or MTC may include communications from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay that information to a central server or application that may utilize or present the information to a person interacting with the program or application. Some UEs 115 may be designed to gather information or enable automated behavior of machines. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, device monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based service charging.

Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ a reduced power consumption mode of operation, such as half-duplex communication (e.g., a mode that supports unidirectional communication via transmission or reception, but not simultaneous transmission and reception). In some examples, half-duplex communication may be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power saving techniques for the UE115 include entering a power saving "deep sleep" mode when not engaged in active communications or operating on limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communications). In some cases, the UE115 may be designed to support critical functions (e.g., mission critical functions), and the wireless communication system 100 may be configured to provide ultra-reliable communication for these functions.

In some cases, the UE115 may also be able to communicate directly with other UEs 115 (e.g., using peer-to-peer (P2P) or device-to-device (D2D) protocols). One or more of the group of UEs 115 communicating with D2D may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105. Other UEs 115 in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105 or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from the base station 105. In some cases, a group of UEs 115 communicating via D2D may utilize a one-to-many (1: M) system in which each UE115 transmits to every other UE115 in the group. In some cases, the base station 105 facilitates scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication is conducted between UEs 115 without the participation of base stations 105.

The base stations 105 may communicate with the core network 130 and with each other. For example, the base stations 105 may interface with the core network 130 over backhaul links 132 (e.g., via S1, N2, N3, or other interfaces). The base stations 105 may communicate with each other directly (e.g., directly between base stations 105) or indirectly (e.g., via the core network 130) over backhaul links 134 (e.g., via X2, Xn, or other interfaces).

The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. Core network 130 may be an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) that may include at least one Mobility Management Entity (MME), at least one serving gateway (S-GW), and at least one Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW). The MME may manage non-access stratum (e.g., control plane) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for UEs 115 served by base stations 105 associated with the EPC. User IP packets may be transported through the S-GW, which may itself be connected to the P-GW. The P-GW may provide IP address assignment as well as other functions. The P-GW may be connected to a network operator IP service. The operator IP services may include access to the internet, intranet(s), IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or Packet Switched (PS) streaming services.

At least some network devices, such as base stations 105, may include subcomponents, such as access network entities, which may be examples of Access Node Controllers (ANCs). Each access network entity may communicate with UE115 through several other access network transport entities, which may be referred to as radio heads, intelligent radio heads, or transmission/reception points (TRPs). In some configurations, the various functions of each access network entity or base station 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and access network controllers) or consolidated into a single network device (e.g., base station 105).

Wireless communication system 100 may operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz). Generally, the region from 300MHz to 3GHz is referred to as the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelength range is approximately one decimeter to one meter long. UHF waves can be blocked or redirected by building and environmental features. However, the waves may sufficiently penetrate the structure of the macro cell to provide service to the UE115 located indoors. UHF-wave transmission can be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100km) compared to transmission of smaller and longer waves using the High Frequency (HF) or Very High Frequency (VHF) portions of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in the ultra high frequency (SHF) region using a frequency band from 3GHz to 30GHz (also referred to as a centimeter frequency band). SHF areas include frequency bands such as the 5GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) bands that may be opportunistically used by devices that may be able to tolerate interference from other users.

The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in the Extremely High Frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum, e.g., from 30GHz to 300GHz (also referred to as the millimeter-band). In some examples, the wireless communication 100 may support millimeter wave (mmW) communications between the UE115 and the base station 105, and the EHF antennas of the respective devices may be even smaller and spaced closer together than the UHF antennas. In some cases, this may facilitate the use of antenna arrays within the UE 115. However, the propagation of EHF transmissions may suffer from even greater atmospheric attenuation and shorter range than SHF or UHF transmissions. The techniques disclosed herein may be employed on transmissions using one or more different frequency regions, and the frequency bands designated for use on these frequency regions may vary from country to country or regulatory agency to country.

In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may employ Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), unlicensed LTE (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in an unlicensed frequency band, such as the 5GHz ISM band. When operating in the unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band, wireless devices such as base stations 105 and UEs 115 may employ a Listen Before Talk (LBT) procedure to ensure that a frequency channel is clear before transmitting data. In some cases, operation in the unlicensed band may be based on a carrier aggregation configuration in conjunction with component carriers operating in the licensed band (e.g., LAA). Operations in the unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, peer-to-peer transmissions, or a combination of these. Duplexing in the unlicensed spectrum may be based on Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD), Time Division Duplexing (TDD), or a combination of the two.

In some examples, a base station 105 or UE115 may be equipped with multiple antennas that may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication, or beamforming. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may use a transmission scheme between a transmitting device (e.g., base station 105) and a receiving device (e.g., UE 115), where the transmitting device is equipped with multiple antennas and the receiving device is equipped with one or more antennas. MIMO communication may employ multipath signal propagation to improve spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers (which may be referred to as spatial multiplexing). The multiple signals may be transmitted, for example, by the transmitting device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Likewise, multiple signals may be received by a receiving device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Each of the multiple signals may be referred to as a separate spatial stream and may carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams. Different spatial layers may be associated with different antenna ports for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO techniques include single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) in which multiple spatial layers are transmitted to the same receiving device, and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) in which multiple spatial layers are transmitted to multiple devices.

Beamforming (which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception) is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting or receiving device (e.g., base station 105 or UE 115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam or a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting and receiving devices. Beamforming may be achieved by combining signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array such that signals propagating in a particular orientation relative to the antenna array experience constructive interference while other signals experience destructive interference. The conditioning of the signals communicated via the antenna elements may include the transmitting device or the receiving device applying certain amplitude and phase offsets to the signals carried via each antenna element associated with the device. The adjustment associated with each antenna element may be defined by a set of beamforming weights associated with a particular orientation (e.g., relative to an antenna array of a transmitting device or a receiving device, or relative to some other orientation).

In one example, the base station 105 may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays for beamforming operations for directional communication with the UEs 115. For example, some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted multiple times in different directions by the base station 105, and such signals may include signals transmitted according to different sets of beamforming weights associated with the different transmit directions. Transmissions in different beam directions may be used to identify beam directions (e.g., by a base station 105 or a receiving device such as a UE 115) for subsequent transmission and/or reception by the base station 105.

Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particular receiving device, may be transmitted by the base station 105 in a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with a receiving device, such as UE 115). In some examples, a beam direction associated with transmission along a single beam direction may be determined based at least in part on signals transmitted in different beam directions. For example, the UE115 may receive one or more signals transmitted by the base station 105 in different directions, and the UE115 may report an indication to the base station 105 of the signal it receives at the highest signal quality or otherwise acceptable signal quality. Although the techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted by the base station 105 in one or more directions, the UE115 may employ similar techniques for transmitting signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., to identify beam directions for subsequent transmission or reception by the UE 115), or transmitting signals in a single direction (e.g., to transmit data to a receiving device).

When receiving various signals, such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals, from the base station 105, a receiving device (e.g., UE115, which may be an example of a mmW receiving device) may attempt multiple receive beams. For example, a receiving device may attempt multiple receive directions by: receiving via different antenna sub-arrays, processing received signals according to different antenna sub-arrays, receiving according to different sets of receive beamforming weights applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, or processing received signals according to different sets of receive beamforming weights applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, any of which may be referred to as "listening" according to different receive beams or receive directions. In some examples, a receiving device may use a single receive beam to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving data signals). The single receive beam may be aligned in a beam direction determined based at least in part on listening according to the different receive beam directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have the highest signal strength, highest signal-to-noise ratio, or otherwise acceptable signal quality based at least in part on listening according to the multiple beam directions).

In some cases, the antennas of a base station 105 or UE115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays that may support MIMO operation, or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly (such as an antenna tower). In some cases, the antennas or antenna arrays associated with the base station 105 may be located in different geographic locations. The base station 105 may have an antenna array with several rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station 105 may use to support beamforming for communications with the UEs 115. Likewise, the UE115 may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations.

In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may be a packet-based network operating according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communication at the bearer layer or Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer may be IP-based. The Radio Link Control (RLC) layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate over logical channels. A Medium Access Control (MAC) layer may perform priority processing and multiplex logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer may also use hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) to provide retransmissions at the MAC layer, thereby improving link efficiency. In the control plane, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer may provide for establishment, configuration, and maintenance of RRC connections between UEs 115 and base stations 105 or core networks 130 supporting radio bearers for user plane data. At the physical layer, transport channels may be mapped to physical channels.

In some cases, the UE115 and the base station 105 may support retransmission of data to increase the likelihood of successfully receiving the data. HARQ feedback is a technique that increases the likelihood that data will be correctly received over the communication link 125. HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)), Forward Error Correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ can improve throughput of the MAC layer under poor radio conditions (e.g., signal-to-noise conditions). In some cases, a wireless device may support simultaneous slot HARQ feedback, where the device may provide HARQ feedback in a particular slot for data received in a previous symbol in the slot. In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback in subsequent time slots or according to some other time interval.

The time interval in LTE or NR may be expressed in multiples of a basic time unit, which may for example refer to T_sA sample period of 1/30,720,000 seconds. The time intervals of the communication resources may be organized according to radio frames, each having a duration of 10 milliseconds (ms), where the frame period may be denoted T_f＝307,200T_s. The radio frame may be identified by a System Frame Number (SFN) ranging from 0 to 1023. Each frame may include 10 subframes numbered from 0 to 9, and each subframe may have a duration of 1 ms. A subframe may be further divided into 2 slots, each having a duration of 0.5ms, and each slot may contain 6 or 7 modulation symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix prepended to each symbol period). Each symbol period may contain 2048 sample periods, excluding the cyclic prefix. In some cases, a subframe may be the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 and may be referred to as a Transmission Time Interval (TTI). In other cases, the minimum scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 may be shorter than a subframe or may be dynamically selected (e.g., in a burst of shortened ttis (sTTI), or in a selected component carrier using sTTI).

In some wireless communication systems, a slot may be further divided into a plurality of mini-slots containing one or more symbols. In some examples, the symbol of a mini-slot or the mini-slot may be the smallest unit of scheduling. For example, the duration of each symbol may vary depending on the subcarrier spacing or operating frequency band. Further, some wireless communication systems may implement timeslot aggregation, where multiple timeslots or mini-timeslots are aggregated together and used for communication between the UE115 and the base station 105.

The term "carrier" refers to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting communications over the communication link 125. For example, the carrier of the communication link 125 may comprise a portion of the radio frequency spectrum band operating in accordance with a physical layer channel of a given radio access technology. Each physical layer channel may carry user data, control information, or other signaling. The carriers may be associated with predefined frequency channels (e.g., evolved universal mobile telecommunications system terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) absolute radio frequency channel numbers (EARFCNs)) and may be located according to a channel grid for discovery by UEs 115. The carriers may be downlink or uplink (e.g., in FDD mode), or configured to carry downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in TDD mode). In some examples, the signal waveform transmitted over the carrier may be composed of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multicarrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)).

The organization of the carriers may be different for different radio access technologies (e.g., LTE-A, LTE-APro, NR). For example, communications on a carrier may be organized according to TTIs or slots, each of which may include user data as well as control information or signaling to support decoding of the user data. The carriers may also include dedicated acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals or system information, etc.) and control signaling that coordinates operation for the carriers. In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have control signaling or acquisition signaling that coordinates operation for other carriers.

According to various techniques, physical channels may be multiplexed on carriers. The physical control channels and physical data channels may be multiplexed on a downlink carrier, for example using Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) techniques, Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. In some examples, the control information sent in the physical control channel may be distributed in a cascaded manner between different control regions (e.g., between a common control region or common search space and one or more UE-specific control regions or UE-specific search spaces).

A carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of the radio frequency spectrum, and in some examples, the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as a carrier or "system bandwidth" of the wireless communication system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of several predetermined bandwidths (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80MHz) of the carrier for the particular radio access technology. In some examples, each served UE115 may be configured to operate over part or all of the carrier bandwidth. In other examples, some UEs 115 may be configured for operation using a narrowband protocol type that is associated with a predefined portion or range within a carrier (e.g., a set of subcarriers or RBs) (e.g., an "in-band" deployment of the narrowband protocol type).

In a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may be composed of one symbol period (e.g., the duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing are inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme). Thus, the more resource elements the UE115 receives and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate of the UE115 may be. In a MIMO system, wireless communication resources may refer to a combination of radio frequency spectrum resources, time resources, and spatial resources (e.g., spatial layers), and the use of multiple spatial layers may further increase the data rate for communication with the UE 115.

Devices of the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., base stations 105 or UEs 115) may have a hardware configuration that supports communication over a particular carrier bandwidth or may be configurable to support communication over one of a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may include a base station 105 and/or a UE115 that supports simultaneous communication via carriers associated with more than one different carrier bandwidth.

The wireless communication system 100 may support communication with UEs 115 over multiple cells or carriers, and the features may be referred to as carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. The UE115 may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both FDD and TDD component carriers.

In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may utilize enhanced component carriers (eccs). An eCC may be characterized by one or more characteristics, including a wider carrier or frequency channel bandwidth, a shorter symbol duration, a shorter TTI duration, or a modified control channel configuration. In some cases, an eCC may be associated with a carrier aggregation configuration or a dual connectivity configuration (e.g., when multiple serving cells have suboptimal or non-ideal backhaul links). An eCC may also be configured for use in unlicensed spectrum or shared spectrum (e.g., where more than one operator is allowed to use the spectrum). An eCC characterized by a wide carrier bandwidth may include one or more segments that may be utilized by UEs 115 that are unable to monitor the entire carrier bandwidth or are otherwise configured to use a limited carrier bandwidth (e.g., to save power).

In some cases, an eCC may utilize a different symbol duration than other component carriers, which may include using a reduced symbol duration compared to symbol durations of other component carriers. Shorter symbol durations may be associated with increased spacing between adjacent subcarriers. Devices utilizing an eCC, such as a UE115 or a base station 105, may transmit a wideband signal (e.g., according to a frequency channel or carrier bandwidth of 20, 40, 60, 80MHz, etc.) at a reduced symbol duration (e.g., 16.67 microseconds). A TTI in an eCC may consist of one or more symbol periods. In some cases, the TTI duration (i.e., the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable.

The wireless communication system 100 may be an NR system that may utilize any combination of licensed, shared, and unlicensed spectrum bands or the like. Flexibility in eCC symbol duration and subcarrier spacing may allow eCC to be used across multiple spectra. In some examples, NR sharing spectrum may increase spectrum utilization and spectral efficiency, particularly through dynamic vertical (e.g., across frequency domain) and horizontal (e.g., across time domain) sharing of resources.

In some aspects, the wireless communication system 100 may include one or more repeaters 101 deployed within and operating within the wireless communication system 100. Repeater 101 may be an example of a cellular telephone signal booster deployed outside the environment of wireless communication system 100 (e.g., may be deployed in an ad hoc manner by an end user rather than a network operator associated with wireless communication system 100). The repeater 101 may not establish logical connectivity at protocol stack layers with other devices of the wireless communication system 100. In general, repeater 101 may receive a signal (e.g., an ingress signal), amplify the signal, and then transmit an amplified version of the signal. The repeater 101 may not generally be configured to encode and/or decode signals, except for limited techniques described herein.

A repeater 101 deployed and operating within the wireless communication system 100 may transmit a beacon signal indicating the presence of the repeater 101 within the wireless communication system 100. The repeater 101 may receive signals from at least one base station 105 within a time-frequency resource shared by a plurality of neighboring base stations 105 in response to transmitting a beacon signal. The repeater 101 may transmit an amplified version of the received signal to one or more UEs 115.

The base station 105 may receive a beacon signal from the relay 101 that indicates the presence of the relay 101 that is relaying signals to one or more UEs 115 within the wireless communication system. The base station 105 may perform inter-cell interference coordination with one or more neighboring base stations 105 that receive the beacon signal in response to receiving the beacon signal to coordinate scheduling of time-frequency resources. The base station 105 may transmit signals to the relay for relaying to one or more UEs 115 based at least in part on inter-cell interference coordination within the time-frequency resources.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 200 that supports enabling relay identification and inter-cell interference coordination support to reduce relay-based interference in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. In some examples, the wireless communication system 200 may implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100. The wireless communication system 200 may include a first cell 205, a second cell 210, a first relay 215, and a second relay 220, which may be examples of corresponding devices described herein. In some aspects, the first cell 205 and/or the second cell 210 may be an example of a base station as described herein.

It will be understood that the first repeater 215 and the second repeater 220 are low complexity, low cost repeaters that operate within the coverage area of the wireless communication system 200 but are not otherwise integrated into the wireless communication system 200. That is, the first repeater 215 and the second repeater 220 do not maintain any form of logical connectivity, e.g., do not establish logical entity states with wireless devices and/or core networks of the wireless communication system 200 via one or more protocol stack layers. First repeater 215 and second repeater 220 may be configured to simply receive a signal from any device, amplify the signal, and then transmit the signal (e.g., repeat the signal by transmitting an amplified version of the signal). These functions are performed without coordination from the first cell 205 and/or the second cell 210, from any core network functions of the wireless communication system 200, and so on. The first repeater 215 and the second repeater 220 are not synchronized with the wireless communication system 200 in the time domain, are not allocated any particular time/frequency/code/space resources configured by the wireless communication system 200, and the like. The first relay 215 and the second relay 220 may be low complexity devices, e.g., may have less hardware/software functionality, when compared to the wireless devices of the communication system 200.

Accordingly, the first repeater 215 and the second repeater 220 are distinct from other devices of the wireless communication system 200 that may also act as repeaters, at least to some extent. For example, the first relay 215 and the second relay 220 are distinct from relay nodes that are part of the wireless communication system 200, such as relay nodes within an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) network, for example. As another example, the first relay 215 and the second relay 220 are distinct from relay nodes that may be part of a mesh network operating within the wireless communication system 200. Accordingly, the first relay 215 and the second relay 220 may be deployed without notification, coordination, or control of the network operator and/or the components/functions of the wireless communication system 200. This may greatly reduce the cost and/or complexity of deploying the first repeater 215 and the second repeater 220. Accordingly, the first cell 205 and/or the second cell 210 may generally be unaware that the first relay 215 and/or the second relay 220 are deployed within their coverage areas.

In some aspects, the first relay 215 and the second relay 220, which are not configured and/or controlled by the wireless communication system 200, are deployed in an ad hoc manner to extend the coverage area of the wireless communication system 200. In the example illustrated in fig. 2, this may include deploying the first relay 215 deployed at the top floor of the building to enhance coverage to wireless devices (e.g., UEs) on the top floor(s) of the building. In another example, this may include a second repeater 220 deployed on a lower floor of the building to enhance coverage of wireless devices on the lower floor(s) of the building. For example, the first relay 215 may be deployed to improve communication between UEs on the top floor(s) and the first cell 205 and/or the second cell 210 of the wireless communication system 200. Likewise, a second relay 220 may be deployed to support communication between UEs on the lower floor(s) and the first cell 205 and/or the second cell 210 of the wireless communication system 200. More specifically, the first and

second repeaters

215 and 220 deployed within the building may receive signals (ingress signals) transmitted by the first and/or

second cells

205 and 210, amplify the signals, and retransmit the amplified signals at a higher power level to improve reception by UEs on the respective floors. Similarly, the first relay 215 and the second relay 220 deployed within the building may receive signals transmitted by UEs on the respective floors (ingress signals), amplify the signals, and retransmit the amplified signals at a higher power level to improve reception by the first cell 205 and/or the second cell 210.

In general, the deployment of the first repeater 215 and/or the second repeater 220 provides a low cost mechanism whereby individual users (rather than the network operator of the wireless communication system 200) can deploy low cost, low complexity repeaters to improve cellular communication within a building without having to coordinate with the network operator of the wireless communication system 200, gain access to certain frequencies, and the like. In general, this approach may be acceptable in many environments because it improves communication capabilities within the coverage area of the repeater. However, large-scale ad hoc deployment of the first repeater 215, the second repeater 220, and other repeaters may result in deployment densities such that interference may be introduced and/or added to the wireless communication system 200. Further, the wireless device is within the wireless communication system 200 (e.g., the first cell 205 and/or the second cell 210).

For example, the first repeater 215 may be deployed at a higher floor, which may provide a close range line of sight for the first cell 205, while a far range line of sight may be provided relative to the second cell 210. This may enable the first relay 215 to perform relay operations for UEs on the higher floor(s) served by the first cell 205 and/or the second cell 210. The second repeater 220 may be deployed on a lower floor, which may provide a close range line of sight for the first cell 205, but the second repeater 220 may be blocked by the second cell 210 because the first cell 205 is in the way. This may enable the second relay 220 to perform relay operations for UEs served by the first cell 205.

As discussed above, the deployment density of repeaters such as the first repeater 215 and/or the second repeater 220 may be high, for example, due to the low cost/low complexity of such repeaters. This may cause or increase interference to the wireless devices of the wireless communication system 200, for example, due to the fact that the devices of the wireless communication system 200 may not be aware that a repeater is deployed. For example, such low cost/low complexity repeaters may result in increased interference in both uplink and downlink communications for the wireless devices of the wireless communication system 200. Such interference may be enhanced when such repeaters are installed at higher floors, such as the first repeater 215. That is, in some examples, the first repeater 215 and the second repeater 220 may introduce unwanted uplink/downlink interference. Some attempts to address this problem include physically orienting the antenna of the repeater to avoid line of sight with the interfered/interfering device (such as the second cell 210). Another attempt to address such interference may include limiting the deployment of repeaters beyond a certain height, e.g., on higher floors of a building, if the attempt is unsuccessful. However, these methods are problematic and have little benefit in avoiding and reducing interference.

Accordingly, aspects of the described techniques reduce interference associated with the first relay 215 and/or the second relay 220 by implementing an indication capability within the first relay 215 and/or the second relay 220. That is, the first repeater 215 and/or the second repeater 220 may each be configured to implement a presence indication capability to support interference mitigation. In some examples, first relay 215 and/or second relay 220 may be configured to relay signals (e.g., beacon signals) to one or more UEs. For example, the first repeater 215 and/or the second repeater 220 may transmit beacon signals indicating the presence of the corresponding repeaters. The beacon signals may be transmitted periodically (e.g., according to a schedule) and/or aperiodically. The beacon signal may be transmitted in an in-band transmission and/or an out-of-band transmission. In some examples, the beacon signal may be configured to carry or otherwise communicate an indication of an identifier associated with the repeater that transmitted the beacon signal. For example, first repeater 215 may transmit a beacon signal that carries or communicates an indication of a first identifier associated with first repeater 215 (e.g., a bit sequence signature that may be unique to first repeater 215). The second repeater 220 may transmit a beacon signal carrying or communicating an indication of a second identifier associated with the second repeater 220.

Wireless devices operating within the wireless communication system 200 can receive beacon signals transmitted by any repeater within range and coordinate with each other to identify resources used in communications involving the repeater to avoid or mitigate interference.

For example, the first cell 205 and the second cell 210 may receive beacon signals transmitted from the first relay 215 and/or the second relay 220. Based on the received beacon signals, the first cell 205 and the second cell 210 may perform ICIC to identify or otherwise allocate resources for use in communications involving the relay(s). ICIC may be performed via a wired or wireless backhaul connection (e.g., such as an X2 interface). In some aspects, ICIC may include the first cell 205 and the second cell 210 identifying time and/or frequency resources that may be used for uplink and/or downlink communications between the respective cells and their associated UEs that may involve the first relay 215 and/or the second relay 220. For example, ICIC may identify a first set of time and/or frequency resources for communications involving first relay 215 and/or second relay 220 by first cell 205 and a second set of time and/or frequency resources for communications involving first relay 215 and/or second relay 220 by second cell 210, or vice versa. The first set of time and/or frequency resources may be different from, or may partially overlap with, the second set of time and/or frequency resources. In some examples, when a first set of time and/or frequency resources at least partially or completely overlaps a second set of time and/or frequency resources, the first cell 205 and the second cell 210 may apply a coding scheme to generate their respective transmissions to enable a receiver (such as the UE 115) to receive one or both transmissions from the

respective cells

205, 210 within the at least partially overlapping sets of time and/or frequency resources.

As one non-limiting example, the first cell 205 may communicate with an associated UE located on an upper floor of a building via the first relay 215 and using a first set of time and/or frequency resources. As another non-limiting example, the first cell 205 may communicate with associated UEs located on lower floors of a building via the second relay 220 and using a second set of time and/or frequency resources. It will be appreciated that the second cell 210 (and any other cells) may also be configured with a corresponding set of time and/or frequency resources that may be used for communications involving the first relay 215 and/or the second relay 220. The first and second sets of resources may be non-overlapping or partially overlapping resources to avoid interference with communications.

In some examples, the techniques discussed above in which the first repeater 215 and/or the second repeater 220 transmit beacon signals to indicate their presence within the wireless communication system 200 may be performed autonomously. That is, the first repeater 215 and/or the second repeater 220 may individually and autonomously transmit beacon signals to signal their presence within the wireless communication system 200. In this example, the first cell 205 and the second cell 210 may perform ICIC to identify time and/or frequency resources for communications involving the first relay 215 and/or the second relay 220.

However, in other examples, the techniques discussed above may be based on other signaling exchanged between the first cell 205 and/or the second cell 210 and the first relay 215 and/or the second relay 220. For example, the first cell 205 and/or the second cell 210 may send or otherwise communicate an indication of a beacon configuration to the first relay 215 and/or the second relay 220. The first repeater 215 and/or the second repeater 220 may receive the beacon configuration and transmit the beacon signal in response to and in accordance with the beacon configuration. In some examples, the beacon configuration to be transmitted is based on detecting an earlier beacon signal transmitted from the first relay 215 and/or the second relay 220, based on detecting the presence of the first relay 215 and/or the second relay 220 using a different signal, and/or the like.

Broadly speaking, the beacon configuration may configure one or more aspects of the transmission of beacon signals by the respective first repeater 215 and/or second repeater 220. For example, the beacon configuration may indicate to the respective repeater whether the beacon signal was transmitted in an in-band transmission and/or an out-of-band transmission according to a periodic schedule and/or an aperiodic schedule, and the like. In some examples, the beacon configuration may carry or communicate information identifying resources (e.g., time and/or frequency resources) in which first relay 215 and/or second relay 220 will transmit their respective beacon signals. For example, the beacon configuration can identify a common or otherwise known resource, such as a Random Access Channel (RACH) preamble within RACH resources of the wireless communication system 200.

Accordingly, aspects of the described technology provide a mechanism whereby first repeater 215 and/or second repeater 220 may signal their presence within wireless communication system 200 by transmitting beacon signals. Components within the wireless communication system 200 may use the beacon signals to perform ICIC (or any other interference detection, mitigation, and/or avoidance scheme) in order to cancel or mitigate any interference associated with the first repeater 215 and/or the second repeater 220. This may be particularly helpful in deployment density scenarios where multiple repeaters are deployed within the wireless communication system 200, thereby increasing potential interference.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a process 300 to support enabling relay identification and inter-cell interference coordination support to reduce relay-based interference according to aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, process 300 may implement aspects of wireless communication systems 100 and/or 200. Aspects of procedure 300 may be implemented by UE 305, relay 310, base station 315, and/or base station 320, which may be examples of corresponding devices described herein. In some aspects, repeater 310 may be a low cost/low complexity repeater that receives a signal (an ingress signal) and then sends an amplified version of the signal, e.g., without decoding, processing, etc., the signal. The signals received and retransmitted by the repeater 310 may be signals within a wireless communication system (e.g., a cellular network), but the repeater 310 may not be integrated into the wireless communication system (e.g., may not establish any logical connectivity with components in the cellular network).

At 305, the relay 310 may transmit or otherwise communicate an indication of a beacon signal (e.g., to a base station 315, a base station 320, etc.) indicating the presence of the relay 310 within the wireless communication system. In some aspects, the transmitted beacon signal may indicate the presence of repeater 310 within the wireless communication system. In some aspects, the beacon signal may be configured with an identifier associated with the repeater 310 to indicate the presence of the repeater 310 within the wireless communication system.

In some aspects, the beacon signals may be transmitted in-band transmissions and/or out-of-band transmissions, etc., according to a periodic scheduling schedule and/or an aperiodic scheduling schedule. In some aspects, the beacon signal may be transmitted on a resource known by a wireless device of the wireless communication system, such as a RACH preamble within a RACH resource of the wireless communication system.

In some aspects, both base station 315 and base station 320 may receive beacon signals transmitted by repeater 310. That is,

base stations

315 and 320 may be within a defined proximity of repeater 310 such that transmissions from repeater 310 and/or base stations 315 and/or 320 may introduce or add interference.

Accordingly, at 330, base station 315 and base station 320 may perform ICIC functions. That is, base station 315 and base station 320 may coordinate with each other over wired and/or wireless backhaul links in order to quantify potential interference to or from relay 310. In some aspects, this may include base station 315 sending a signal to base station 320 indicating that it has received a beacon signal from repeater 310. In some aspects, this may include base station 320 sending a signal to base station 315 indicating that it has received a beacon signal from repeater 310. In some aspects, ICIC may be performed based on both base station 315 and base station 320 receiving beacon signals.

ICIC may include determining that interference to or from the repeater 310 exceeds a threshold and, thus, identifying countermeasures to avoid or mitigate such interference. While various anti-interference countermeasures may be deployed, one non-limiting example may include base station 315 and base station 320 identifying time and/or frequency resources for communications that avoid or mitigate such interference. For example, the time and/or frequency resources may be used by base station 315 for its communications, base station 320 for its communications, UE 305 or its communications, and/or for any communications that may include relay 310. In some aspects, this may include a first set of time and/or frequency resources for communications in one direction (e.g., for uplink communications) and a second set of time and/or frequency resources for communications in another direction (e.g., for downlink communications). In some aspects, this may include the base station 315 scheduling a first set of resources for uplink and/or downlink communications and the base station 320 scheduling a second set of resources for uplink and/or downlink communications, where the first set of resources is different from the second set of resources in time, frequency, or both.

Accordingly, time and/or frequency resources may be utilized for signals received by the relay 310 from the base station 315, the UE 305, and/or the base station 320. Repeater 310 may receive a signal over time and/or frequency resources, amplify the signal, and then transmit an amplified version of the received signal. Scheduling of coordinated transmissions within time and/or frequency resources may result in less interference within the time and/or frequency resources.

As one example in an uplink scenario, at 335, the UE 305 may transmit a signal to the relay 310 using the identified time and/or frequency resources. The relay 310 may amplify a signal received from the UE 305 and transmit an amplified version of the signal to the base station 315.

In another example in a downlink scenario, at 340, base station 315 can transmit a signal to relay 310 using the identified time and/or frequency resources. The relay 310 may amplify the signal received from the base station 315 and transmit an amplified version of the signal to the UE 305.

As discussed above, in some examples, the relay 310 may coordinate with the base station prior to implementing the described techniques. For example, repeater 310 may receive a beacon configuration for transmission of a beacon signal. The beacon configuration may configure one or more aspects of how repeater 310 transmits the beacon signal (e.g., identify resources for the beacon signal, identify scheduling information for the beacon signal, etc.). For example, the beacon configuration may identify a time and/or resource for transmission of the beacon signal, may configure the manner in which the beacon signal is transmitted, and/or the like. In some aspects, the beacon configuration may be received from a base station (e.g., base station 315) in response to the base station detecting a previously transmitted beacon signal. In some aspects, repeater 310 may wait for a beacon configuration before transmitting a beacon signal.

Fig. 4 illustrates a block diagram 400 of an apparatus 405 that supports enabling relay identification and inter-cell interference coordination support to reduce relay-based interference in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. The device 405 may be an example of aspects of the base station 105 as described herein. The device 405 may include a receiver 410, a communication manager 415, and a transmitter 420. The device 405 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

The receiver 410 may receive information, such as packets, user data, or control information, associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to repeater beacon signals for enabling inter-cell interference coordination, etc.). Information may be passed to other components of device 405. The receiver 410 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 720 described with reference to fig. 7. Receiver 410 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The communication manager 415 can receive a beacon signal from a relay indicating the presence of the relay relaying signals to one or more UEs within the wireless communication system; in response to receiving the beacon signal, performing inter-cell interference coordination with one or more neighboring base stations receiving the beacon signal to coordinate scheduling of time-frequency resources; and transmitting a signal based on inter-cell interference coordination within the time-frequency resources. The communication manager 415 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 710 described herein.

The communication manager 415 or subcomponents thereof may be implemented in hardware, code executed by a processor (e.g., software or firmware), or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager 415 or subcomponents thereof may be performed by: a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in this disclosure.

The communication manager 415 or sub-components thereof may be physically located in various locations, including being distributed such that portions of functionality are implemented by one or more physical components at different physical locations. In some examples, the communication manager 415 or subcomponents thereof may be separate and distinct components in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the communication manager 415 or subcomponents thereof may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Transmitter 420 may transmit signals generated by other components of device 405. In some examples, the transmitter 420 may be collocated with the receiver 410 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 420 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 720 described with reference to fig. 7. The transmitter 420 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

In some examples, the communication manager 415 may be implemented as an integrated circuit or chipset for a mobile device modem, and the receiver 410 and the transmitter 420 may be implemented as analog components (e.g., amplifiers, filters, antennas) coupled with the mobile device modem to enable wireless transmission and reception over one or more frequency bands.

The communication manager 415 as described herein may be implemented to realize one or more potential advantages. One implementation may allow device 405 to perform operating system functions based on the configuration of device 405. For example, when device 405 determines that it has received beacon signal(s) from neighboring repeaters, device 405 may perform ICIC or various other processing operations that may result in power savings and reduced processing complexity. Thus, by using beacon signals from the repeater, the device 405 can coordinate with other base stations within communication range of the repeater to reduce network interference and improve network functionality.

Fig. 5 illustrates a block diagram 500 of a device 505 that supports enabling relay identification and inter-cell interference coordination support to reduce relay-based interference in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 505 may be an example of aspects of the device 405 or the base station 105 as described herein. The device 505 may include a receiver 510, a communication manager 515, and a transmitter 535. The device 505 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 510 may receive information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information related to repeater beacon signals for enabling inter-cell interference coordination, etc.), such as packets, user data, or control information. The information may be passed to other components of the device 505. The receiver 510 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 720 described with reference to fig. 7. Receiver 510 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The communication manager 515 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 415 as described herein. The communication manager 515 may include a beacon signal manager 520, an ICIC manager 525, and a signal communication manager 530. The communication manager 515 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 710 described herein.

The beacon signal manager 520 may receive a beacon signal from a relay indicating the presence of the relay that is relaying signals to one or more UEs within the wireless communication system.

The ICIC manager 525 may perform inter-cell interference coordination with one or more neighboring base stations receiving the beacon signal in response to receiving the beacon signal to coordinate scheduling of time-frequency resources.

The signal communication manager 530 may transmit signals within the time frequency resources based on inter-cell interference coordination.

Transmitter 535 may transmit signals generated by other components of device 505. In some examples, the transmitter 535 may be collocated with the receiver 510 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 535 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 720 described with reference to fig. 7. Transmitter 535 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

Fig. 6 illustrates a block diagram 600 of a communication manager 605 that enables relay identification and inter-cell interference coordination support to reduce relay-based interference, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communication manager 605 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 415, the communication manager 515, or the communication manager 710 described herein. Communications manager 605 may include a beacon signal manager 610, an ICIC manager 615, a signal communications manager 620, a configuration manager 625, and an ICIC coordination manager 630. Each of these modules may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

The beacon signal manager 610 can receive a beacon signal from a relay indicating the presence of the relay that is relaying signals to one or more UEs within the wireless communication system.

ICIC manager 615 may perform inter-cell interference coordination with one or more neighboring base stations receiving the beacon signal in response to receiving the beacon signal to coordinate scheduling of time-frequency resources.

The signal communication manager 620 may transmit signals within the time frequency resources based on inter-cell interference coordination.

The configuration manager 625 may transmit a beacon configuration for transmission of beacon signals, where the beacon signals are transmitted according to the beacon configuration. In some examples, the configuration manager 625 may transmit a beacon configuration indicating that beacon signals are transmitted according to a periodic scheduling schedule, an aperiodic scheduling schedule, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the profile manager 625 may transmit a beacon profile indicating that the beacon signals are transmitted as at least one of an in-band transmission, or an out-of-band transmission, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the configuration manager 625 may transmit a beacon configuration indicating that the beacon signal is transmitted as a RACH preamble within a RACH resource of the wireless communication system.

The ICIC coordination manager 630 may receive an indication from a first base station of the one or more neighboring base stations indicating that the first base station received a beacon signal from the relay, wherein the inter-cell interference coordination is based on the received indication. In some examples, ICIC coordination manager 630 may communicate one or more messages with one or more neighboring base stations via at least one of a wired backhaul link, or a wireless backhaul link, or any combination thereof.

Fig. 7 illustrates a diagram of a system 700 that includes a device 705 that supports enabling relay identification and inter-cell interference coordination support to reduce relay-based interference, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. Device 705 may be an example of, or may include components of, device 405, device 505, or base station 105 as described herein. The device 705 may include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for sending and receiving communications, including a communication manager 710, a network communication manager 715, a transceiver 720, an antenna 725, a memory 730, a processor 740, and an inter-station communication manager 745. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses, such as bus 750.

The communication manager 710 can receive a beacon signal from a relay indicating the presence of the relay that is relaying signals to one or more UEs within the wireless communication system; in response to receiving the beacon signal, performing inter-cell interference coordination with one or more neighboring base stations receiving the beacon signal to coordinate scheduling of time-frequency resources; and transmitting to the relay within the time-frequency resources for relaying to the one or more UEs based on the inter-cell interference coordination.

The network communications manager 715 may manage communications with the core network (e.g., via one or more wired backhaul links). For example, the network communications manager 715 may manage transmission of data communications for client devices, such as one or more UEs 115.

The transceiver 720 may communicate bi-directionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links as described above. For example, transceiver 720 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 720 may also include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the antennas for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antennas.

In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 725. However, in some cases, a device may have more than one antenna 725, which may be capable of sending or receiving multiple wireless transmissions simultaneously.

Memory 730 may include RAM, ROM, or a combination thereof. Memory 730 may store computer readable code 735 comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor (e.g., processor 740), cause the device to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, memory 730 may contain a Basic Input Output System (BIOS), or the like, that may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

Processor 740 may include intelligent hardware devices (e.g., general-purpose processors, DSPs, CPUs, microcontrollers, ASICs, FPGAs, programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combinations thereof). In some cases, processor 740 may be configured to operate the memory array using a memory controller. In some cases, a memory controller may be integrated into processor 740. Processor 740 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 730) to cause apparatus 705 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks to support repeater beacon signals for enabling inter-cell interference coordination).

The inter-station communication manager 745 may manage communications with other base stations 105 and may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with the UE115 in cooperation with the other base stations 105. For example, the inter-station communication manager 745 may coordinate scheduling for transmissions to the UE115 for various interference mitigation techniques, such as beamforming or joint transmission. In some examples, the inter-station communication manager 745 may provide an X2 interface within LTE/LTE-a wireless communication network technology to provide communication between the base stations 105.

Code 735 may include instructions to implement aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions to support wireless communications. Code 735 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, code 735 may not be directly executable by processor 740, but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein.

Fig. 8 illustrates a block diagram 800 of a device 805 that supports enabling relay identification and inter-cell interference coordination support to reduce relay-based interference in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. Device 805 may be an example of aspects of a wireless device (e.g., a repeater) as described herein. The device 805 may include a receiver 810, a communication manager 815, and a transmitter 820. The device 805 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 810 can receive information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to relay identification and inter-cell interference coordination support to reduce relay-based interference, etc.), such as packets, user data, or control information. Information may be passed to other components of the device 805. The receiver 810 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1120 described with reference to fig. 11. Receiver 810 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The communication manager 815 may transmit, by the relay, a beacon signal indicating the presence of the relay relaying signals to one or more UEs within the wireless communication system; receiving signals from at least one base station within time-frequency resources shared by a set of neighboring base stations in response to transmitting a beacon signal; and transmitting the amplified version of the received signal to one or more UEs. The communication manager 815 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1110 described herein.

The communication manager 815 or subcomponents thereof may be implemented in hardware, code executed by a processor (e.g., software or firmware), or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager 815, or subcomponents thereof, may be performed by: a general purpose processor, a DSP, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in this disclosure.

The communication manager 815, or subcomponents thereof, may be physically located at various locations, including being distributed such that portions of functionality are implemented by one or more physical components at different physical locations. In some examples, the communication manager 815 or subcomponents thereof may be separate and distinct components in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the communication manager 815 or subcomponents thereof may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

The transmitter 820 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 805. In some examples, the transmitter 820 can be collocated with the receiver 810 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 820 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1120 described with reference to fig. 11. The transmitter 820 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

Fig. 9 illustrates a block diagram 900 of a device 905 that supports enabling relay identification and inter-cell interference coordination support to reduce relay-based interference, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. The device 905 may be an example of aspects of a device 805 or a wireless device (e.g., a repeater) as described herein. The device 905 may include a receiver 910, a communication manager 915, and a transmitter 935. The device 905 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 910 can receive information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to relay identification and inter-cell interference coordination support to reduce relay-based interference, etc.), such as packets, user data, or control information. The information may be passed to other components of the device 905. The receiver 910 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1120 described with reference to fig. 11. Receiver 910 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The communication manager 915 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 815 as described herein. The communication manager 915 may include a beacon signal manager 920, a resource manager 925, and a repeater manager 930. The communication manager 915 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1110 described herein.

The beacon signal manager 920 may transmit, by the relay, a beacon signal indicating the presence of the relay that is relaying signals to one or more UEs within the wireless communication system.

The resource manager 925 may receive signals from at least one base station within time-frequency resources shared by a set of neighboring base stations in response to transmitting a beacon signal.

Relay manager 930 may send the amplified version of the received signal to one or more UEs.

The transmitter 920 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 905. In some examples, the transmitter 920 may be collocated with the receiver 910 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 920 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1120 described with reference to fig. 11. The transmitter 920 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

Fig. 10 illustrates a block diagram 1000 of a communications manager 1005 supporting enabling repeater identification and inter-cell interference coordination support to reduce repeater-based interference, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communication manager 1005 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 815, the communication manager 915, or the communication manager 1110 described herein. The communication manager 1005 may include a beacon signal manager 1010, a resource manager 1015, a repeater manager 1020, a configuration manager 1025, and a beacon identification manager 1030. Each of these modules may be directly or indirectly coupled to each other (e.g., via one or more respective buses).

The beacon signal manager 1010 can transmit, by a relay, a beacon signal indicating the presence of the relay that is relaying signals to one or more UEs within the wireless communication system.

Resource manager 1015 may receive signals from at least one base station within time-frequency resources shared by a set of neighboring base stations in response to transmitting a beacon signal.

The relay manager 1020 may send the amplified version of the received signal to one or more UEs. In some cases, the repeater is configured not to decode or process the received signal prior to transmission. In some cases, the repeater is configured to amplify and beamform signals without coordinating with at least one base station or any of a plurality of neighboring base stations of the wireless communication system.

The configuration manager 1025 may receive a beacon configuration for transmission of a beacon signal, wherein the beacon signal is transmitted according to the beacon configuration. In some examples, configuration manager 1025 may receive a beacon configuration indicating that beacon signals are transmitted according to a periodic schedule, an aperiodic schedule, or any combination thereof. In some examples, configuration manager 1025 may receive a beacon configuration indicating that the beacon signal is to be sent as at least one of an in-band transmission, or an out-of-band transmission, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the configuration manager 1025 may receive a beacon configuration indicating that the beacon signal is transmitted as a RACH preamble within a RACH resource of the wireless communication system.

Beacon identification manager 1030 may transmit a beacon signal including an identifier associated with a repeater.

Fig. 11 illustrates a diagram of a system 1100 that includes a device 1105 that supports enabling relay identification and inter-cell interference coordination support to reduce relay-based interference in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. Device 1105 may be, or may include components of, an example of device 805, device 905, or a wireless device (e.g., a repeater) as described herein. Device 1105 may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications, including components for sending and receiving communications, including a communications manager 1110, a transceiver 1120, an antenna 1125, a memory 1130, and a processor 1140. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses, such as bus 1150.

The communication manager 1110 may transmit, by the relay, a beacon signal indicating the presence of the relay relaying signals to one or more UEs within the wireless communication system; receiving signals from at least one base station within time-frequency resources shared by a set of neighboring base stations in response to transmitting a beacon signal; and transmitting the amplified version of the received signal to one or more UEs.

The transceiver 1120 may communicate bi-directionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links as described above. For example, transceiver 1120 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1120 may also include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to an antenna for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antenna. The transceiver 1120 may also support amplifying signals received from one wireless device (such as the base station 105), amplifying the signals, and then transmitting an amplified version of the signals to another device (such as the UE 115).

In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 1125. However, in some cases, a device may have more than one antenna 1125 that may be capable of sending or receiving multiple wireless transmissions simultaneously.

The memory 1130 may include RAM, ROM, or a combination thereof. The memory 1130 may store computer readable code 1135 comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor (e.g., processor 1140), cause the apparatus to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, the memory 1130 may contain a BIOS or the like, which may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

Processor 1140 may include intelligent hardware devices (e.g., general-purpose processors, DSPs, CPUs, microcontrollers, ASICs, FPGAs, programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combinations thereof). In some cases, processor 1140 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some cases, a memory controller may be integrated into processor 1140. The processor 1140 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1130) to cause the device 1105 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks to support intelligent repeater beamforming to reduce out-of-range interference).

Code 1135 may include instructions to implement aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions to support wireless communications. Code 1135 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, the code 1135 may not be directly executable by the processor 1140, but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein.

Fig. 12 shows a flow diagram illustrating a method 1200 of supporting enabling relay identification and inter-cell interference coordination support to reduce relay-based interference in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1200 may be implemented by a wireless device (e.g., a repeater) or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1200 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 8-11. In some examples, the wireless device may execute sets of instructions to control the functional elements of the wireless device to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless device may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 1205, the wireless device may transmit, by the relay, a beacon signal indicating a presence of the relay, wherein the relay is configured to relay the signal to one or more UEs within the wireless communication system. The operations of 1205 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1205 may be performed by a beacon signal manager as described with reference to fig. 8-11. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1205 can, but need not, include, for example, the antenna 1125, the transceiver 1120, the communication manager 1110, the memory 1130 (including the code 1135), the processor 1140, and/or the bus 1150.

At 1210, a wireless device may receive a signal from at least one base station within a time-frequency resource shared by a set of neighboring base stations in response to transmitting a beacon signal. 1210 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1210 may be performed by a resource manager as described with reference to fig. 8-11. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1210 can, but need not, include, for example, an antenna 1125, a transceiver 1120, a communication manager 1110, memory 1130 (including code 1135), a processor 1140 and/or a bus 1150.

At 1215, the wireless device may transmit an amplified version of the received signal to one or more UEs. The operations of 1215 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1215 may be performed by a repeater manager as described with reference to fig. 8-11. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1215 can, but need not, include, for example, an antenna 1125, a transceiver 1120, a communication manager 1110, a memory 1130 (including code 1135), a processor 1140, and/or a bus 1150.

Fig. 13 shows a flow diagram illustrating a method 1300 of supporting enabling relay identification and inter-cell interference coordination support to reduce relay-based interference in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1300 may be implemented by a wireless device (e.g., a repeater) or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1300 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 8-11. In some examples, the wireless device may execute sets of instructions to control the functional elements of the wireless device to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless device may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 1305, the wireless device may receive a beacon configuration for transmission of a beacon signal, where the beacon signal is transmitted according to the beacon configuration. 1305 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1305 may be performed by a configuration manager as described with reference to fig. 8-11. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1305 may, but need not, include, for example, an antenna 1125, a transceiver 1120, a communication manager 1110, memory 1130 (including code 1135), a processor 1140 and/or a bus 1150.

At 1310, the wireless device may transmit, by a relay, a beacon signal indicating a presence of the relay, wherein the relay is configured to relay the signal to one or more UEs within the wireless communication system. 1310 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1310 may be performed by a beacon signal manager as described with reference to fig. 8-11. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1310 may, but need not, include, for example, an antenna 1125, a transceiver 1120, a communication manager 1110, memory 1130 (including code 1135), a processor 1140 and/or a bus 1150.

At 1315, the wireless device may receive a signal from at least one base station within a time-frequency resource shared by a set of neighboring base stations in response to transmitting a beacon signal. 1315 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1315 may be performed by a resource manager as described with reference to fig. 8-11. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1315 may, but need not, include, for example, antenna 1125, transceiver 1120, communication manager 1110, memory 1130 (including code 1135), processor 1140, and/or bus 1150.

At 1320, the wireless device may transmit the amplified version of the received signal to one or more UEs. 1320 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1320 may be performed by a relay manager as described with reference to fig. 8-11. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1320 may, but need not, include, for example, the antenna 1125, the transceiver 1120, the communication manager 1110, the memory 1130 (including the code 1135), the processor 1140 and/or the bus 1150.

Fig. 14 shows a flow diagram illustrating a method 1400 of enabling relay identification and inter-cell interference coordination support to reduce relay-based interference in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1400 may be implemented by a wireless device (e.g., a repeater) or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1400 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 8-11. In some examples, the wireless device may execute sets of instructions to control the functional elements of the wireless device to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless device may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 1405, the wireless device can transmit a beacon signal that includes an identifier associated with the repeater. 1405 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1405 may be performed by a beacon identification manager as described with reference to fig. 8-11. Additionally or alternatively, means for performing 1405 may, but need not necessarily, include, for example, an antenna 1125, a transceiver 1120, a communication manager 1110, a memory 1130 (including code 1135), a processor 1140, and/or a bus 1150.

At 1410, the wireless device may transmit, by a relay, a beacon signal indicating a presence of the relay, wherein the relay is configured to relay the signal to one or more UEs within the wireless communication system. 1410 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1410 may be performed by a beacon signal manager as described with reference to fig. 8-11. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1410 may, but need not, include, for example, an antenna 1125, a transceiver 1120, a communication manager 1110, a memory 1130 (including code 1135), a processor 1140, and/or a bus 1150.

At 1415, the wireless device may receive signals from at least one base station within the time-frequency resources shared by the set of neighboring base stations in response to transmitting the beacon signal. The operations of 1415 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1410 may be performed by a resource manager as described with reference to fig. 8-11. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1415 can, but need not, include, for example, an antenna 1125, a transceiver 1120, a communication manager 1110, a memory 1130 (including code 1135), a processor 1140, and/or a bus 1150.

At 1420, the wireless device may transmit the amplified version of the received signal to one or more UEs. 1420 operations may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1420 may be performed by a relay manager as described with reference to fig. 8-11. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1420 may, but need not, include, for example, an antenna 1125, a transceiver 1120, a communication manager 1110, a memory 1130 (including code 1135), a processor 1140, and/or a bus 1150.

Fig. 15 shows a flow diagram illustrating a method 1500 of supporting enabling relay identification and inter-cell interference coordination support to reduce relay-based interference in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1500 may be implemented by a base station 105 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1500 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 4-7. In some examples, the base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the base station may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1505 may, but need not, include, for example, the antenna 725, the transceiver 720, the communication manager 710, the memory 730 (including the code 735), the processor 740, and/or the bus 750.

At 1505, the base station can receive a beacon signal from a relay indicating the presence of the relay (e.g., the relay that is relaying signals to one or more UEs within the wireless communication system). 1505 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1505 may be performed by a beacon signal manager as described with reference to fig. 4-7. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1505 may, but need not, include, for example, the antenna 725, the transceiver 720, the communication manager 710, the memory 730 (including the code 735), the processor 740, and/or the bus 750.

At 1510, the base station may perform inter-cell interference coordination with one or more neighboring base stations receiving the beacon signal in response to receiving the beacon signal to coordinate scheduling of time-frequency resources. 1510 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1510 may be performed by an ICIC manager as described with reference to fig. 4-7. Additionally or alternatively, means for performing 1510 may, but need not, include, for example, the antenna 725, the transceiver 720, the communication manager 710, the memory 730 (including the code 735), the processor 740, and/or the bus 750.

At 1515, the base station may transmit signals within the time-frequency resources based on inter-cell interference coordination. 1515 the operations may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1515 may be performed by a signal communication manager as described with reference to fig. 4-7. Additionally or alternatively, means for performing 1515 may, but need not, include, for example, the antenna 725, the transceiver 720, the communication manager 710, the memory 730 (including the code 735), the processor 740, and/or the bus 750.

Fig. 16 shows a flow diagram illustrating a method 1600 of enabling relay identification and inter-cell interference coordination support to reduce relay-based interference in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1600 may be implemented by a base station 105 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1600 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 4-7. In some examples, the base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the base station may perform various aspects of the functions described below using dedicated hardware.

At 1605, the base station may receive a beacon signal from the relay indicating the presence of the relay relaying signals to one or more UEs within the wireless communication system. 1605 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1605 may be performed by a beacon signal manager as described with reference to fig. 4-7. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1605 may, but need not, include, for example, the antenna 725, the transceiver 720, the communication manager 710, the memory 730 (including the code 735), the processor 740, and/or the bus 750.

At 1610, the base station may receive an indication from a first base station of the one or more neighboring base stations indicating that the first base station received a beacon signal from the relay, wherein inter-cell interference coordination is based on the received indication. 1610 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1610 may be performed by an ICIC coordination manager as described with reference to fig. 4-7. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1610 may, but need not, include, for example, the antenna 725, the transceiver 720, the communication manager 710, the memory 730 (including the code 735), the processor 740, and/or the bus 750.

At 1615, the base station may perform inter-cell interference coordination with one or more neighboring base stations receiving the beacon signal to coordinate scheduling of time-frequency resources in response to receiving the beacon signal. The operations of 1615 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1615 may be performed by an ICIC manager as described with reference to fig. 4-7. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1615 may, but need not, include, for example, the antenna 725, the transceiver 720, the communication manager 710, the memory 730 (including the code 735), the processor 740, and/or the bus 750.

At 1620, the base station may transmit signals within the time-frequency resources based on inter-cell interference coordination. 1620 may be performed according to methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1620 may be performed by a signal communication manager as described with reference to fig. 4-7. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1620 may, but need not, include, for example, the antenna 725, the transceiver 720, the communication manager 710, the memory 730 (including the code 735), the processor 740, and/or the bus 750.

Summary of the various aspects

The following provides a summary of aspects of the disclosure:

aspect 1: a method for wireless communication at a repeater, comprising: transmitting, by a relay, a beacon signal indicating a presence of the relay, wherein the relay is configured to relay signals to one or more User Equipments (UEs) within a wireless communication system; receiving signals from at least one base station within a time-frequency resource shared by a plurality of neighboring base stations in response to transmitting a beacon signal; and transmitting the amplified version of the received signal to one or more UEs.

Aspect 2: the method according to aspect 1, further comprising: a beacon configuration for transmission of a beacon signal is received, wherein the beacon signal is transmitted according to the beacon configuration.

Aspect 3: the method of aspect 2, wherein receiving the beacon configuration further comprises: receiving a beacon configuration indicating that beacon signals are transmitted according to a periodic scheduling schedule, an aperiodic scheduling schedule, or any combination thereof.

Aspect 4: the method of any of aspects 2 to 3, wherein receiving the beacon configuration further comprises: receiving a beacon configuration indicating that the beacon signal is to be transmitted as at least one of an in-band transmission, or an out-of-band transmission, or any combination thereof.

Aspect 5: the method of any of aspects 2 to 4, wherein receiving the beacon configuration further comprises: a beacon configuration is received indicating that a beacon signal is transmitted as a RACH preamble within a RACH resource of a wireless communication system.

Aspect 6: the method of any of aspects 1 to 5, wherein transmitting the beacon signal comprises: a beacon signal including an identifier associated with the repeater is transmitted.

Aspect 7: the method according to any of aspects 1 to 6, wherein the repeater is not configured to decode or process the received signal prior to transmission.

Aspect 8: the method of any of aspects 1 to 7, wherein the relay is configured to amplify and beamform the signal without coordinating with at least one base station or any of a plurality of neighboring base stations of the wireless communication system.

Aspect 9: a method of wireless communication at a base station, comprising: receiving a beacon signal from the repeater indicating the presence of the repeater; in response to receiving the beacon signal, performing inter-cell interference coordination with one or more neighboring base stations receiving the beacon signal to coordinate scheduling of time-frequency resources; and transmitting a signal within the time-frequency resources to a relay for relaying to one or more UEs based at least in part on the inter-cell interference coordination.

Aspect 10: the method according to aspect 9, further comprising: transmitting a beacon configuration for transmission of a beacon signal, wherein the beacon signal is transmitted according to the beacon configuration.

Aspect 11: the method of aspect 10, wherein transmitting the beacon configuration further comprises: transmitting a beacon configuration indicating that beacon signals are transmitted according to a periodic scheduling schedule, an aperiodic scheduling schedule, or any combination thereof.

Aspect 12: the method of any of aspects 10 to 11, wherein transmitting the beacon configuration further comprises: transmitting a beacon configuration indicating that the beacon signal is transmitted as at least one of an in-band transmission, or an out-of-band transmission, or any combination thereof.

Aspect 13: the method of any of aspects 10 to 12, wherein transmitting the beacon configuration further comprises: transmitting a beacon configuration indicating that the beacon signal is transmitted as a RACH preamble within RACH resources of the wireless communication system.

Aspect 14: the method according to any one of aspects 9 to 13, further comprising: receiving, from a first base station of the one or more neighboring base stations, an indication indicating that the first base station received a beacon signal from the relay, wherein the inter-cell interference coordination is based at least in part on the received indication.

Aspect 15: the method according to any of aspects 9 to 14, wherein performing inter-cell interference coordination comprises: communicating one or more messages with one or more neighboring base stations via at least one of a wired backhaul link, or a wireless backhaul link, or any combination thereof.

Aspect 16: an apparatus for wireless communication at a repeater, comprising: a processor; a memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of aspects 1 to 8.

Aspect 17: an apparatus for wireless communication at a repeater, comprising: at least one component for performing the method of any one of aspects 1 to 8.

Aspect 18: a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a relay, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method of any of aspects 1 to 8.

Aspect 19: an apparatus for wireless communication at a base station, comprising: a processor; a memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of aspects 9 to 15.

Aspect 20: an apparatus for wireless communication at a base station, comprising: at least one component for performing the method of any one of aspects 9 to 15.

Aspect 21: a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a base station, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method of any of aspects 9 to 15.

It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the operations and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more methods may be combined.

The techniques described herein may be used for various wireless communication systems such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), and others. A CDMA system may implement a radio technology such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), and so on. CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. The IS-2000 version may be generally referred to as CDMA20001X, 1X, etc. IS-856(TIA-856) IS commonly referred to as CDMA20001 xEV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includes wideband CDMA (wcdma) and other variants of CDMA. TDMA systems may implement radio technologies such as global system for mobile communications (GSM).

The OFDMA system may implement radio technologies such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11(Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16(WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, and the like. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE, LTE-A and LTE-A Pro are releases of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR, and GSM are described in documents from an organization entitled "third Generation partnership project (3 GPP)". CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "third generation partnership project 2(3GPP 2)". The techniques described herein may be used for the systems and radio technologies mentioned herein, as well as other systems and radio technologies. Although aspects of the LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro or NR system may be described for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, the techniques described herein may also be applied to applications other than LTE, LTE-A, LTE-APro or NR applications.

A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. Small cells may be associated with lower power base stations than macro cells, and may operate in the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed, etc.) frequency bands as macro cells. According to various examples, small cells may include pico cells, femto cells, and micro cells. For example, a pico cell may cover a small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A femto cell may also cover a small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may provide restricted access by UEs having an association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG), UEs of users in the home, etc.). The eNB for the macro cell may be referred to as a macro eNB. An eNB for a small cell may be referred to as a small cell eNB, pico eNB, femto eNB, or home eNB. An eNB may support one or more (e.g., two, three, four, etc.) cells and may also support communication using one or more component carriers.

The wireless communication systems described herein may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the base stations may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the base stations may have different frame timings, and transmissions from different base stations may not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for synchronous operations as well as for asynchronous operations.

Information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with the following: a general purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hard-wired, or a combination of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations.

Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (eeprom), flash memory, Compact Disc (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that may be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes CD, laser disc, optical disc, Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

As used herein, including in the claims, "or" (e.g., a list of items beginning with a phrase such as "at least one of … …" or "one or more of … …") as used in a list of items indicates an inclusive list, such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B or C means a or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., a and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be construed as a reference to a closed condition set. For example, an exemplary step described as "based on condition a" may be based on both condition a and condition B without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should be interpreted in the same manner as the phrase "based, at least in part, on".

In the drawings, similar components or features may have the same reference numerals. In addition, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label or other subsequent reference labels.

The description set forth herein in connection with the appended drawings describes example configurations and is not intended to represent all examples that may be implemented or within the scope of the claims. The term "exemplary" as used herein means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration," and not "preferred" or "superior to other examples. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described technology. However, these techniques may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

The description herein is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication at a repeater, comprising:

transmitting, by the relay, a beacon signal indicating a presence of the relay, wherein the relay is configured to relay signals to one or more User Equipments (UEs) within a wireless communication system;

receiving signals from at least one base station within time-frequency resources shared by a plurality of neighboring base stations in response to transmitting the beacon signal; and

transmitting the amplified version of the received signal to the one or more UEs.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a beacon configuration for transmission of the beacon signal, wherein the beacon signal is transmitted according to the beacon configuration.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving the beacon configuration further comprises:

receiving the beacon configuration indicating that the beacon signal is transmitted according to a periodic schedule, an aperiodic schedule, or any combination thereof.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving the beacon configuration further comprises:

receiving the beacon configuration indicating to transmit the beacon signal as at least one of an in-band transmission, or an out-of-band transmission, or any combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving the beacon configuration further comprises:

receiving the beacon configuration indicating that the beacon signal is to be transmitted as a Random Access Channel (RACH) preamble within RACH resources of the wireless communication system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the beacon signal comprises:

transmitting the beacon signal including an identifier associated with the repeater.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the repeater is not configured to decode or process the received signal prior to transmission.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the relay is configured to amplify and beamform the signal without coordinating with the at least one base station or any of the plurality of neighboring base stations of the wireless communication system.

9. A method for wireless communications at a base station, comprising:

receiving a beacon signal from a repeater indicating the presence of the repeater;

in response to receiving the beacon signal, performing inter-cell interference coordination with one or more neighboring base stations receiving the beacon signal to coordinate scheduling of time-frequency resources; and

transmit a signal to the relay for relaying to one or more User Equipments (UEs) within the time-frequency resources based at least in part on the inter-cell interference coordination.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

transmitting a beacon configuration for transmission of the beacon signal, wherein the beacon signal is transmitted according to the beacon configuration.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein transmitting the beacon configuration further comprises:

transmitting the beacon configuration indicating that the beacon signal is transmitted according to a periodic schedule, an aperiodic schedule, or any combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein transmitting the beacon configuration further comprises:

transmitting the beacon configuration indicating that the beacon signal is transmitted as at least one of an in-band transmission, or an out-of-band transmission, or any combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein transmitting the beacon configuration further comprises:

transmitting the beacon configuration indicating to transmit the beacon signal as a Random Access Channel (RACH) preamble within RACH resources of a wireless communication system.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving, from a first base station of the one or more neighboring base stations, an indication indicating that the first base station received the beacon signal from the relay, wherein the inter-cell interference coordination is based at least in part on the received indication.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein performing the inter-cell interference coordination comprises:

communicating one or more messages with the one or more neighboring base stations via at least one of a wired backhaul link, or a wireless backhaul link, or any combination thereof.

16. An apparatus for wireless communication at a repeater, comprising:

means for transmitting, by the relay, a beacon signal indicating a presence of the relay, wherein the relay is configured to relay signals to one or more User Equipments (UEs) within a wireless communication system;

means for receiving a signal from at least one base station within a time-frequency resource shared by a plurality of neighboring base stations in response to transmitting the beacon signal; and

means for transmitting an amplified version of the received signal to the one or more UEs.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

means for receiving a beacon configuration for transmission of the beacon signal, wherein the beacon signal is transmitted according to the beacon configuration.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:

means for receiving the beacon configuration indicating that the beacon signal is transmitted according to a periodic schedule, an aperiodic schedule, or any combination thereof.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:

means for receiving the beacon configuration indicating that the beacon signal is transmitted as at least one of an in-band transmission, or an out-of-band transmission, or any combination thereof.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:

means for receiving the beacon configuration indicating that the beacon signal is transmitted as a Random Access Channel (RACH) preamble within RACH resources of the wireless communication system.

21. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

means for transmitting the beacon signal including an identifier associated with the repeater.

22. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the repeater is not configured to decode or process the received signal prior to transmission.

23. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the relay is configured to amplify and beamform the signal without coordinating with the at least one base station or any of the plurality of neighboring base stations of the wireless communication system.

24. An apparatus for wireless communication at a base station, comprising:

means for receiving a beacon signal from a repeater indicating the presence of the repeater;

means for performing, in response to receiving the beacon signal, inter-cell interference coordination with one or more neighboring base stations receiving the beacon signal to coordinate scheduling of time-frequency resources; and

means for transmitting a signal to the relay for relaying to one or more User Equipments (UEs) within the time-frequency resources based at least in part on the inter-cell interference coordination.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, further comprising:

means for transmitting a beacon configuration for transmission of the beacon signal, wherein the beacon signal is transmitted according to the beacon configuration.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

means for transmitting the beacon configuration indicating that the beacon signal is transmitted according to a periodic schedule, an aperiodic schedule, or any combination thereof.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

means for transmitting the beacon configuration indicating that the beacon signal is transmitted as at least one of an in-band transmission, or an out-of-band transmission, or any combination thereof.

28. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

means for transmitting the beacon configuration indicating that the beacon signal is transmitted as a Random Access Channel (RACH) preamble within RACH resources of a wireless communication system.

29. The apparatus of claim 24, further comprising:

means for receiving an indication from a first base station of the one or more neighboring base stations indicating that the first base station received the beacon signal from the relay, wherein the inter-cell interference coordination is based at least in part on the received indication.

30. The apparatus of claim 24, further comprising:

means for communicating one or more messages with the one or more neighboring base stations via at least one of a wired backhaul link, or a wireless backhaul link, or any combination thereof.